Leadership Thought: Something No One Should Ever Leave at Home

Dear Friends,

I still remember the old American Express card advertisement: “Don’t leave home without it.” The same thing can be said for integrity; it is something that we should never leave home without.

The late former President Dwight Eisenhower writes that “integrity is the supreme quality of leadership,” and the Scriptures remind us that the one who lives with integrity will live securely, but whoever perverts his way will be found out” (Prov. 10:9). That’s a good verse to commit to memory

Job was a man of integrity. His wife asks “Are you still holding on to your integrity. Why don’t you curse God and die?” That’s a wife I am glad I wasn’t married to. Nothing like that kind of encouragement from your mate to get your day started. Job responds  says “ I will never admit you are in the right. Until I die, I will not deny my integrity “ (Job 27:5).

Integrity,  says Socrates, “is being in reality what you are on the outside.” “ It is being congruent-your public persona and your private persona are one and the same. A person of integrity is one who does the right thing when no one is looking and everyone else is compromising. He is the one who will keep promises when there is no one to check up on him. In short, a person of integrity is a “promise keeper.”

Several years ago, I went into Wal-Mart to buy some flower seeds. Unfortunately, I was a nickel short when it came time to pay the bill. There was a long line behind me as I fumbled through my pockets hoping to find a few extra pennies, but I came up empty. The casher waved me on and said, “Don’t worry about it.” As I walked to my car,  I thought to myself, I need to find a nickel and go back and make up the difference. Lo and behold, there on the floorboard of my car was a nickel, so I picked it up, headed back to the store and gave it to the cashier. Now I know what you are thinking, so please don’t draw a comparison with me and Honest Abe. I only walked a few yards compared to the many miles it is reported he walked to pay an overdue library fine. But as I handed the cashier the nickel, I was stuck by her look of amazement. She didn’t know what to do or say. I suspect the thought “who is this guy-did he come from another planet?”

 Well I share this story for no other reason than to make the point that “integrity,” as someone wrote “is made up of those little choices of correct behavior that are carried out in small daily decisions.” Each time we come to a situation like the one I described, we are faced with two paths: one leading to character and the other to compromise. Each time we choose the path leading to character we grow stronger, and every right decision that we make to do  the right thing strengthens our character to deal with the greater integrity challenges we may face down the road.

All this makes me think of the story of two engineers who both applied for a single position at a computer company. They both had the same qualifications. To determine which individual to hire, the applicants were asked to take a test by the department manager.

Upon completion of the test, both men missed only one of the questions. The manager went to the first applicant and said, “Thank you for your interest, but we’ve decided to give the job to the other applicant.”

“And why would you be doing that since we both got 9 questions correct, “ stated the other applicant.

“We have based our decision not on the correct answers, but on the question you both missed, “ said the department manager.

“And just how would one incorrect answer be better than the other” the rejected applicant inquired? “Simple,” said the department manager.

“Your fellow applicant put down on question 5, “I don’t know.” And you put down,  “Neither do I.”

As I think about it, that disappointed applicant must have left  home without one of his most valuable possessions, integrity. Friends, "Don't leave home without it."

Make today great and have a wonderful weekend.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom